JC Music cheat sheet

Major scale interval pattern in semitones: 2-2-1-2-2-2-1; natural minor: 2-1-2-2-1-2-2; harmonic minor raises scale degree 7 by one semitone.

Diatonic seventh-chord qualities in major: Imaj7, ii7, iii7, IVmaj7, V7, vi7, viiø7; in natural minor: i7, iiø7, IIImaj7, iv7, v7, VImaj7, VII7.

Chord inversion is determined by the lowest sounding pitch: root position = root in bass, first inversion = third, second inversion = fifth, third inversion = seventh.

Figured-bass shorthand: 6 = first inversion triad, 6/4 = second inversion triad, 7 = root-position seventh, 6/5 = first inversion seventh, 4/3 = second, 4/2 = third.

Cadence types: authentic (V–I, perfect if both chords in root position with soprano on tonic), half (ends on V), plagal (IV–I), deceptive (V–vi).

Secondary dominant V/x is the major triad or dominant seventh a perfect fifth above the tonicized chord; in C major, V/ii = A7, V/vi = E7.

Pivot-chord modulation requires a chord diatonic to both keys; common pivots are ii, IV, V, and vi of the old key reinterpreted in the new key.

Sonata form sections: exposition (first theme, transition, second theme, closing), development, recapitulation, optional coda; the recapitulation normally restates the second theme in the tonic.

Medieval era (c. 500–1400): Gregorian chant, organum, Notre Dame polyphony (Léonin, Pérotin), Ars Nova notation (Philippe de Vitry), Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame.

Renaissance (c. 1400–1600): imitative polyphony, Josquin, Palestrina, Byrd; the madrigal, motet, and Mass ordinary are core genres; printing by Petrucci from 1501 spread repertoire.

Baroque (c. 1600–1750): basso continuo, terraced dynamics, ritornello form; Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel; the concerto grosso and da capo aria are characteristic.

Classical (c. 1750–1820): sonata form, string quartet, symphony; Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven; Beethoven's middle-period works expand form and length, late works become more contrapuntal.

Romantic (c. 1820–1900): chromatic harmony, program music, lied and character piece; Schubert, Chopin, Berlioz, Wagner's Tristan chord and leitmotif technique.

Twentieth century: Debussy and Ravel (impressionism), Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps (1913) rhythmic primitivism, Schoenberg's twelve-tone method (1921–23), Bartók, Shostakovich.

Identify works by genre and forces: Brandenburg Concertos = six concerti grossi by Bach; The Four Seasons = four violin concertos by Vivaldi with programmatic sonnets.

Interval recognition anchor songs: minor 2nd = Jaws theme, major 3rd = first two notes of When the Saints Go Marching In, perfect 4th = Here Comes the Bride, tritone = Maria from West Side Story.

Scale-degree solfège in movable do: 1 do, 2 re, 3 mi, 4 fa, 5 sol, 6 la, 7 ti; raised 4 (fi) signals secondary dominant to V.

Chord-quality listening: major = bright and stable, minor = darker third, diminished = two stacked minor thirds (unstable), augmented = two stacked major thirds (suspended).

Cadence dictation: a final V–I with soprano on 1 is perfect authentic; ending on V is a half cadence; V–vi is deceptive.

Rhythm dictation method: establish the beat and subdivision first, then notate attack points relative to the beat rather than duration by duration.

Melodic dictation strategy: identify tonic and mode from the final note and key-defining intervals, then map contour and scale degrees before writing rhythm.

Timbre identification: oboe = double reed, nasal; clarinet = single reed, hollow chalumeau; flute = airy; French horn = mellow, stopped effects; brass muted = brassy buzz.

Voice-leading rules: avoid parallel fifths and octaves between any two voices; resolve tendency tones (leading tone up, chordal seventh down) in tonal style.

Doubling priority in four-part writing: double the root, then the fifth; double the third only in diminished triads (where the third is the leading tone and should be doubled instead of the root).

Range guidelines (concert pitch, approximate): SATB soprano C4–A5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass E2–D4.

Transposition: B-flat instruments sound a major second below written; E-flat alto sax sounds a major sixth below; F horn sounds a perfect fifth below; double bass and guitar sound an octave below written.

Texture types: monophonic (one line), homophonic (melody plus chordal accompaniment), polyphonic (independent simultaneous lines), heterophonic (simultaneous variants of one line).

Orchestration balance rule: assign melody to a distinct timbre or register, keep accompaniment figuration in a different octave band, and reserve full tutti for structural peaks.

Form-building devices: sequence (repetition at a new pitch level), ostinato (persistent repeated figure), augmentation/diminution (rhythmic scaling), and inversion (contour mirror).

Breath support for singers: appoggio technique maintains inspiratory posture during exhalation; the diaphragm is the principal muscle of inspiration, not of forced exhalation.

Passaggio: the register transition zone; male voices typically around E4–G4, female voices around E4–A4, negotiated by adjusting vowel and breath pressure rather than by pushing.

String technique: détaché = separate bow strokes, legato = smooth connected strokes, spiccato = short bouncing stroke, sul ponticello = bow near the bridge for a glassy tone.

Piano pedaling: sustain (damper) pedal lifts all dampers; half-pedaling clears some overtones; una corda (soft) pedal shifts the action for a muted timbre.

Brass and woodwind intonation: pitch rises with temperature and with lip tension; low notes on flute and oboe tend flat, high notes tend sharp, so adjust with air speed and embouchure.

Practice design: slow tempo with metronome for accuracy, chunking by phrase, and interleaved practice of difficult passages outperform massed repetition for retention.

Ensemble tuning: tune to the fixed-pitch instrument (usually oboe or piano), then balance by section from the lowest voice upward.

Sample rate and Nyquist theorem: a digital system captures frequencies up to half the sample rate; 44.1 kHz captures up to 22.05 kHz, above typical human hearing.

Bit depth determines dynamic range: 16-bit ≈ 96 dB, 24-bit ≈ 144 dB; higher bit depth lowers quantization noise and is preferred for recording and mixing.

Latency = buffer size ÷ sample rate; at 48 kHz a 256-sample buffer is about 5.3 ms, so smaller buffers reduce latency but increase CPU load.

DAW signal flow order: source → preamp/gain staging → insert effects → fader → bus → master; keep peaks below 0 dBFS and target around −6 dBFS for mix headroom.

EQ basics: high-pass filtering removes rumble; narrow boosts fix resonances; subtractive EQ is generally preferred to additive for clarity.

Compression parameters: threshold sets the level where compression starts, ratio sets gain reduction amount, attack/release set timing, makeup gain restores level.

MIDI vs audio: MIDI carries performance data (note, velocity, controller) with no sound; audio is a recorded waveform; MIDI at 16 channels per port, notes 0–127, velocity 0–127.

Copyright exists on fixation of an original work; in the US it lasts for the author's life plus 70 years, and registration is required before filing an infringement suit.

Two separate copyrights exist in a recording: the musical work (composition and lyrics, usually publisher-administered) and the sound recording (usually label or artist owned).

Mechanical license pays for reproducing a composition; in the US statutory rate is set by the Copyright Royalty Board and updated periodically, so verify the current rate.

Performance royalties flow through PROs (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC in the US; PRS, GEMA, SACEM elsewhere); the writer share and publisher share are separate.

Synchronization license is required to pair music with visual media; it is negotiated directly with the publisher and is separate from the master-use license from the recording owner.

Work-for-hire and exclusive songwriter agreements transfer ownership or rights; read term, reversion, and recoupment clauses before signing.

Standard live-performance paperwork includes a stage plot, input list, and technical rider; contracts typically specify deposit, cancellation terms, and payment schedule.